Camera apparatus having shutter control apparatus

ABSTRACT

A camera apparatus includes a lens module, an image detecting module, a shutter and a shutter control apparatus. The shutter is disposed between the lens module and the image detecting module. The shutter control apparatus has a switch for controlling the lens module and the shutter. The switch has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. While the switch produces the first trigger status, the lens module automatically focuses. By contrast, while the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of and claims priority benefit of anapplication Ser. No. 11/308,719, filed on Apr. 26, 2006, which claimsthe priority benefits of both the U.S. provisional application titled “ASHUTTER DEVICE FOR PHOTOGRAPHING SYSTEM” filed on Dec. 16, 2005, Ser.No. 60/751,154, and the Taiwan application serial no. 95105879, filed onFeb. 22, 2006. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patentapplications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a partof this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a shutter control apparatus of a cameraapparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shuttercontrol apparatus, which turns on/off the shutter with a single switch,and the method thereof.

2. Description of Related Art

The design of mobile communication apparatuses or consumer electronicproducts (for example, digital camera) is usually towards lightness andsmallness, and along with the increase of additional functions, thespace in the device for circuit is getting smaller and smaller. Thus,how to accomplish the same functions with least circuit components orstructure design within a limited space is the major subject of thedevelopment of mobile communication device.

Nowadays, the function of digital camera has become an importantadditional function on mobile apparatuses. However, the shutter of ageneral digital camera is usually controlled by 2-step switch. FIG. 1 isa diagram of a conventional shutter control circuit. As shown in FIG. 1,the switches S₁ and S₂ respectively control the output voltage levels ofthe output terminals OUT1 and OUT2. While the switch S₁ is turned on,the voltage level of the output terminal OUT1 is high voltage level, andhere the digital camera focuses. While the switch S₂ is turned on, thevoltage level of the output terminal OUT2 is high voltage level, andhere the digital camera takes a picture.

However, since the circuit illustrated in FIG. 1 requires manycomponents, a lot of space is needed if this circuit is adopted for theshutter control of a mobile communication device. If the shutter controlwith the same function can be achieved with fewer components or with thehelp of software, the space efficiency of mobile communication devicecan be increased and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a shutter controlapparatus of a camera apparatus, which controls the auto focus and theon/off of the shutter of a camera apparatus according to the timingbetween two triggers of the switch (switching from on status to opencircuit status and from open circuit status to on status), so as tosimplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a shutter controlapparatus of a camera apparatus is provided, which respectively controlsthe auto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatusaccording to two statuses of the switch, so as to simplify the circuitdesign and to reduce the component cost. According to yet another aspectof the present invention, a shutter control method for a cameraapparatus is provided, which controls the auto focus and the on/off ofthe shutter of the camera apparatus according to the timing between twotrigger statuses of the switch so as to simplify the circuit design andto reduce the component cost.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a cameraapparatus is provided, wherein the auto focus and the on/off of theshutter of the camera apparatus are respectively controlled according tothe timing of a single button being pressed, so as to simply the circuitdesign and to reduce the component cost. According to yet another aspectof the present invention, a camera apparatus is provided, wherein theauto focus and the on/off of the shutter of the camera apparatus arerespectively controlled according to two trigger statuses of the switch,so as to simplify the circuit design and to reduce the component cost.

The present invention provides a shutter control apparatus, which issuitable for controlling the shutter of a camera apparatus, and theshutter control apparatus includes an output terminal, a voltage source,a ground voltage source, a switch, and a resistor. The switch is coupledbetween the voltage source and the output terminal, and the resistor iscoupled between the output terminal and the ground voltage source.

Wherein the switch has a first trigger status and a second triggerstatus. While the switch produces the first trigger status, the cameraapparatus automatically focuses. Next, while the switch produces thesecond trigger status, if the timing between the adjacent first triggerstatus and second trigger status locates between an upper limit and alower limit, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter ofthe camera apparatus so that the camera apparatus takes a picture. In anembodiment of the present invention, the foregoing first trigger statusrefers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from opencircuit status to on status, and the foregoing second trigger statusrefers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on statusto open circuit status.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a shutter controlmethod is provided, which is suitable for controlling the shutter of acamera apparatus. The camera apparatus has a switch which has a firsttrigger status and a second trigger status. The foregoing shuttercontrol method includes the following steps. First, the first triggerstatus and the second trigger status are produced sequentially. When thefirst trigger status is produced, the camera apparatus automaticallyfocuses. Then, when the second trigger status is produced, the timingbetween the first trigger status and the second trigger status isestimated. If the timing between the first trigger status and the secondtrigger status locates between an upper limit and a lower limit, theshutter of the camera apparatus is turned on/off so that the cameraapparatus takes a picture. In an embodiment of the present invention,the foregoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when theswitch is switched from open circuit status to on status, and the secondtrigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switchingfrom on status to open circuit status.

In overview, the present invention further provides a camera apparatus,which includes a lens module, an image detecting module, a shutter, asignal processing module, and the foregoing shutter control apparatus.The foregoing signal processing module is coupled to the image detectingmodule for processing the output signal of the image detecting module.The shutter is disposed between the lens module and the image detectingmodule. The foregoing shutter control apparatus has a switch which has afirst trigger status and a second trigger status.

While the switch produces the first trigger status, the camera apparatusautomatically focuses. While the switch produces the first triggerstatus and the second trigger status sequentially, if the timing betweenthe adjacent first trigger status and second trigger status locatesbetween an upper limit and a lower limit, the shutter control apparatusturns on/off the shutter of the camera apparatus, and the imagedetecting module detects an image through the lens module and outputs asignal to the signal processing module so that the camera apparatustakes a picture. In another embodiment of the present invention, theforegoing first trigger status refers to the trigger status when theswitch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and thesecond trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch isswitching from on status to open circuit status.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the camera apparatus mayalso automatically focus while the switch produces the first triggerstatus. Next, while the switch produces the second trigger status, thecamera apparatus turns on/off the shutter so that the image detectingmodule detects an image through the lens module.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the foregoingfirst trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch isswitching from open circuit status to on status, and the second triggerstatus refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from onstatus to open circuit status.

According to the present invention, the shutter is controlled throughtiming method, and the shutter of a camera apparatus is controlledaccording to the timing between two trigger statuses (from on status toopen circuit status and from open circuit status to on status) of asingle switch, thus the function of the conventional dual switchescontrol can be achieved. Accordingly, the present invention can beapplied to small volume digital cameras or used for controlling theshutter of a mobile communication device which has the function ofdigital camera. With the technology of the present invention, the spaceefficiency of the mobile communication device can be increased and thecomponent cost thereof can be reduced.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages ofthe present invention comprehensible, a preferred embodiment accompaniedwith figures is described in detail below.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended toprovide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional shutter control circuit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a camera apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the shutter control apparatus in thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a signal waveform of the shutter control apparatus in thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method accordingto another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method accordingto another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a camera apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention. The camera apparatus 200includes a lens module 210, a shutter control apparatus 220, a shutter225, an image detecting module 230, and a signal processing module 240.The shutter 225 is disposed between the lens module 210 and the imagedetecting module 230, and the shutter control apparatus 220 is coupledto the shutter 225 for turning on/off the shutter 225. The signalprocessing module 240 is coupled to the image detecting module 230 forprocessing the output of the image detecting module 230, and the imagedetecting module 230 detects an image through the lens module 210 whilethe shutter 225 is turned on and outputs a signal to the signalprocessing module 240.

Since the shutter 225 is only turned on for a short while when thecamera apparatus 200 is taking picture, the shutter control apparatus220 has to turns on and off the shutter 225 within a short time, thatis, the operation of turning on/off the shutter 225 has to be completedwithin a short time, so that the camera apparatus 200 can take a picturewithin a short time.

In the present embodiment, the shutter control apparatus 220 turnson/off the shutter 225 mainly according to the timing between the firsttrigger status and the second trigger status of a switch. In the presentembodiment, the first trigger status refers to the trigger status whenthe switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and thesecond trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch isswitching from on status to open circuit status. After the switchproduces the first trigger status, the signal processing module 240outputs an auto focus signal AFS to the lens module 210, so that thelens module 210 automatically focuses between the camera apparatus 200and the object to be taken picture of.

Next, when the switch produces the second trigger status, the shuttercontrol apparatus 220 estimates the timing between the first triggerstatus and the second trigger status of the switch and sets the timingas detection timing. If the detection timing is between an upper limitand a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus 220 turns on/off theshutter 225, so that the image detecting module 230 detects an imagethrough the lens module 210, and the camera apparatus 200 takes apicture through the detect of the image detecting module 230. If thedetection timing is greater than the upper limit or smaller than thelower limit, the shutter control apparatus 220 controls the cameraapparatus 200 to cancel the picture-taking operation.

The foregoing upper limit and lower limit can be set according to systemrequirement and user requirement, wherein the upper limit is greaterthan the lower limit, and the upper limit and the lower limit are bothpositive. In the present invention, whether the detection timing betweenthe first trigger status and the second trigger status is smaller thanthe upper limit can be detected and the relation thereof with the lowerlimit can be ignored according to system requirement and userrequirement. In another embodiment of the present invention, the firsttrigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switchingfrom on status to open circuit status, and the second trigger statusrefers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from opencircuit status to on status. Similarly, the shutter of the cameraapparatus can be controlled according to the timing between the firsttrigger status and the second trigger status. Those with ordinary skillin the art should be able to understand from the present disclosure, sowill not be described again.

The main component of the foregoing shutter control apparatus 220 is aswitch. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the shutter control apparatus inthe present embodiment. The shutter control apparatus 220 includes avoltage source VCC, a switch S₃, a resistor 310, a control unit 320, andan output terminal OUT. The switch S₃ is coupled between the voltagesource VCC and the output terminal OUT, and the resistor 310 is coupledbetween the output terminal OUT and a ground voltage source GND. Thecontrol unit 320 is coupled to the output terminal OUT and used fordetecting a trigger status change of the switch according to an outputvoltage at the output terminal. While the switch S₃ is turned on, theoutput terminal OUT is at high voltage level, and while the switch S₃ isin open circuit status, the output terminal OUT is at low voltage level.The control unit 320 of the shutter control apparatus 220 can estimatethe timing, i.e. detection timing, between the first trigger status andthe second trigger status of the switch S₃ according to the change ofthe voltage level at the output terminal OUT.

While the switch S₃ produces the first trigger status, the cameraapparatus 200 automatically focuses. Next, while the switch S₃ producesthe second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus 220 determineswhether to turn on/off the shutter 225 according to timing between thefirst trigger status and the second trigger status of the switch S₃,that is, determines whether to turn on/off the shutter 225 according tothe detection timing. If the detection timing is between an upper limitand a lower limit, the shutter control apparatus 220 turns on/off theshutter 225 of the camera apparatus 200, so that the camera apparatus200 takes a picture. If the detection timing is greater than the upperlimit or smaller than the lower limit, the camera apparatus 200 cancelsthe picture-taking operation. The detection timing can be estimated fromthe change of the voltage level at the output terminal OUT.

In the present embodiment, the switch S₃ can be turned on/off by abutton, the switch S₃ is switched from open circuit status to on status(i.e. producing the first trigger status) while the button is pressed,and the switch S₃ is switched from on status to open circuit status(i.e. producing the second trigger status) while the button is released.Thus, when the user presses the button, the camera apparatus 200 startsfocusing automatically. Then, when the user releases the button, theshutter control apparatus 220 estimates the timing of the user pressingthe button. If the timing is between the upper limit and the lowerlimit, the shutter control apparatus 220 turns on/off the shutter 225,so that the camera apparatus 230 can detect an image through the lensmodule 210. The image detecting module 230 transmits the convertedsignal to the image processing module 240 for processing the signal, sothat the camera apparatus 200 takes a picture. If the timing of the userpressing the button is smaller than the lower limit or greater than theupper limit, the camera apparatus 200 cancels the picture-takingoperation.

The foregoing lower limit and upper limit can be set by the user. Thelower limit is for preventing the user from mistakenly pressing thebutton, and the upper limit can be set according to the auto focus timeof the camera apparatus 200 and the user's habit. Both the lower limitand the upper limit can be set according to user requirement, but theupper limit has to be greater than the lower limit and both arepositive. Certainly, in the present invention, only the relation of thetiming between the first trigger status and the second trigger statusand the upper limit can be detected according to system requirement anduser requirement, and the relation with the lower limit can be ignored.The technology details should be understood by those with ordinary skillin the art so will not be described again.

Next, the main waveform signal in the shutter control apparatus 220 willbe further described below. FIG. 4 is a signal waveform of the shuttercontrol apparatus in the present invention. Signals W₁, W₂, and W₃ arethe signal waveforms of the output terminal OUT. Signal W₁ is the signalwaveform under normal operation, switch S₃ produces the first triggerstatus (from open circuit status to on status) at time ta, and producesthe second trigger status (from on status to open circuit status) aftertiming T₁, i.e. at time t_(b).

The switch S₃ is turned on during detection timing T₁, thus, signal W₁is at high voltage level during the detection timing T₁. The timingbetween the first trigger status and the second trigger status of theswitch S₃ (i.e. the detection timing T₁) can be estimated according tothe voltage level change of the signal W₁. As illustrated by signal W₁,the signal processing module 240 output an auto focus signal AFS to thelens module 210 after time t_(a) to automatically focus between thecamera apparatus 200 and the object to be taken picture of. Since thedetection timing T₁ is between the lower limit T_(d) and the upper limitT_(u), the shutter control apparatus 220 turns on/off the shutter 225after time t_(b), so that the camera apparatus 200 detects an image andtakes a picture.

Signal W₂ is the signal waveform when the detection timing T₂ is smallerthan the lower limit T_(d). As illustrated by signal W₂, switch S₃ isturned on during the detection timing T₂. Since the detection timing T₂is smaller than the lower limit T_(d), the camera apparatus 200 cancelsthe picture-taking operation after the detection timing T₂ has passed.Signal W₃ is the signal waveform when the detection timing T₃ is greaterthan the upper limit T_(u). As illustrated by signal W₃, switch S₃ isturned on during the detection timing T₃. Since the detection timing T₃is greater than the upper limit T_(u), the camera apparatus 200 cancelsthe picture-taking operation after the detection timing T₃ has passed.

In the present embodiment, the technology of the present invention isexplained with the timing of the switch S₃ being turned on as example.In another embodiment of the present invention, the timing of the switchS₃ at open circuit status can also be used to implement the presentinvention, and the timing of the switch S₃ at open circuit status canalso be estimated according to the voltage level change of the outputterminal OUT, and the shutter 225 of the camera apparatus 200 is turnedon/off according to this timing. The implementation method thereofshould be understood by those with ordinary skill in the art, so willnot be described here. In addition, whether the timing between the firsttrigger status and the second trigger status is smaller than the upperlimit T_(u) can be detected according to system requirement and userrequirement, and the lower limit T_(d) is ignored. In this case, thesignal W₁ and signal W₂ as shown in FIG. 4 both take pictures. Thevarious methods for controlling the focus and the shutter with twotrigger statuses of a single switch are all within the spirit and scopeof the present invention and should be understood by those with ordinaryskill in the art, so will not be described again.

In another embodiment of the present invention, referring to both FIG. 2and FIG. 3, the auto focusing operation and the turning on/off operationof the camera apparatus 200 can be respectively controlled with twotrigger statuses of the switch S₃ (the first trigger status and thesecond trigger status). When the switch S₃ produces the first triggerstatus, the camera apparatus 200 automatically focuses, then, when theswitch S₃ produces the second trigger status, the shutter controlapparatus 220 turns on/off the shutter 225 so that the camera apparatus200 takes a picture. The rest details of the present embodiment shouldbe understood by those with ordinary skill in the art from the presentdisclosure so will not be described again.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. The shutter controlmethod is suitable for controlling the shutter 225 of the cameraapparatus 200. The camera apparatus 200 has a switch S₃, and the switchS₃ has a first trigger status and a second trigger status. The shuttercontrol method includes the following steps. First, in step 510, thefirst trigger status and the second trigger status are sequentiallyproduced. In the present embodiment, the switch S₃ produces the firsttrigger status (switching the switch from open circuit status to onstatus). Here, the camera apparatus 200 automatically focuses throughthe signal processing module 240 and the lens module 210. The switch S₃produces the second trigger status (switching the switch from on statusto open circuit status) after a detection timing. Next, in step 520, thetiming between the foregoing first trigger status and second triggerstatus, i.e. the detection timing, is estimated.

After that, in step 530, the condition expression is executed. If thedetection timing is greater than the upper limit or smaller than thelower limit, step 535 is proceeded to cancel the picture-takingoperation. If the detection timing is between the upper limit and thelower limit, step 540 is preceded. In step 540, the shutter controlapparatus 220 turns on/off the shutter 225, so that the image detectingmodule 230 detects an image through the lens module 210. Next, in step550, the image detecting module 230 outputs a signal according to thedetected image to the signal processing module 240 to be processed, sothat the camera apparatus 200 takes a picture. In the shutter controlmethod of the present embodiment, the rest details has been described inthe foregoing description of the shutter control apparatus and can beunderstood by those skilled in the art, so will not be described again.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the shutter control method accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. First, in step 610, thecamera apparatus 200 is initialized. Then, in step 620, the conditionexpression is executed, and the shutter control apparatus 220 determineswhether the switch S₃ produces a first trigger status (switching theswitch from open circuit status to on status), if no, the procedure goesback to step 610. If the switch S₃ produces the first trigger status,the next step is preceded. In step 630, the camera apparatus 200automatically focuses through the signal processing module 240 and thelens module 210. Next, in step 640, the condition expression isproceeded, and the shutter control apparatus 220 determines whether theswitch S₃ produces the second trigger status, if no, the procedure goesback to step 630, and the camera apparatus 200 continues to take apicture. If the switch S₃ produces the second trigger status, step 650is preceded.

In step 650, the shutter control apparatus 220 determines whether thedetection timing meets a predetermined condition, wherein the detectiontiming is the timing between the foregoing first trigger status andsecond trigger status. In the present embodiment, the predeterminedcondition includes an upper limit and a lower limit. The detectiontiming meets the predetermined condition if the detection timing isbetween the upper limit and the lower limit, otherwise the detectiontiming doesn't meet the predetermined condition. In another embodimentof the present invention, different predetermined conditions can be setaccording to user requirement or system requirement. For example, anupper limit, the detection timing meets the predetermined condition ifthe detection timing is smaller than the upper limit, and it doesn'tmeet the predetermined condition if it is greater than the upper limit.The foregoing upper limit and lower limit can be set according to userrequirement or system requirement.

Next, if the detection timing meets the predetermined condition, step660 is proceeded. In step 660, the shutter control apparatus 220 turnson/off the shutter 225, so that the image detecting module 230 detectsan image through the lens module 210. Next, in step 670, the imagedetecting module 230 outputs a signal according to the detected image tothe signal processing module 240 to be processed, so that the cameraapparatus 200 takes a picture. In the shutter control method in thepresent embodiment, the rest details are explained in the description ofthe foregoing shutter control apparatus, and it should be understood bythose skilled in the art, so will not be described again.

In the present invention, the shutter of the camera apparatus is turnedon/off according to two trigger statuses (from open circuit status to onstatus and from on status to open circuit status) of a single switchthrough timing method, so as to simplify the circuit design andcomponents number, which reduces the space required by the circuit andthe manufacturing cost of the circuit. Meanwhile, the present inventionis more suitable for mobile communication devices.

In addition, a shutter control method is further disclosed in anotherexemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the step ofdetecting the timing between the two trigger statuses of the singleswitch can be skipped, instead, auto focusing and turning on/off theshutter can be performed through detecting the trigger statuses sequenceof the signal switch. According to this control method, when the switchproduces the first trigger status, the lens module automaticallyfocuses, and if next the switch produces the second trigger status, theshutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the imagedetecting module detects an image through the lens module. According tothis embodiment, the timing between the two trigger statuses is notdetected, so there is no upper limit or lower limit set.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present inventioncover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A camera apparatus, comprising: a lens module; an image detecting module; a shutter, disposed between the lens module and the image detecting module; a shutter control apparatus, having a switch for controlling the lens module and the shutter, the switch having a first trigger status and a second trigger status, wherein while the switch produces the first trigger status, the lens module automatically focuses, and while the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module; and a button for triggering the switch, the switch producing the first trigger status while the button is pressed, and the switch producing the second trigger status while the button is released.
 2. A camera apparatus, comprising: a lens module; an image detecting module; a shutter, disposed between the lens module and the image detecting module; and a shutter control apparatus, having a switch for controlling the lens module and the shutter, the switch having a first trigger status and a second trigger status, wherein while the switch produces the first trigger status, the lens module automatically focuses, and while the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module, and wherein the first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status.
 3. A camera apparatus, comprising: a lens module; an image detecting module; a shutter, disposed between the lens module and the image detecting module; and a shutter control apparatus, having a switch for controlling the lens module and the shutter, the switch having a first trigger status and a second trigger status, wherein while the switch produces the first trigger status, the lens module automatically focuses, and while the switch produces the second trigger status, the shutter control apparatus turns on/off the shutter, so that the image detecting module detects an image through the lens module, and wherein the first trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from open circuit status to on status, and the second trigger status refers to the trigger status when the switch is switching from on status to open circuit status. 